Page 60 of Reclaimed (Hostage Rescue Team)

She scrambled to her feet and balanced her weight on the balls of her feet to at least give her a chance at dodging what was coming. When he reached her, the man bent down to grab the can of gasoline.

White hot rage suffused her as she realized what was happening. They were in a rush to kill her quickly, before the rescuers could reach them.

Every hair on her body stood up in ferocious denial. I’m not going to die with help just on the other side of that wall, she vowed, steeling herself for the fight of her life.

The man raised the can, tried to slosh the contents on her. She dodged the stream, the liquid barely missing her as it puddled on the ground instead. The pungent smell of gasoline surrounded her, burning her nostrils and throat. She coughed, shrank away from the deadly fluid.

Her captor grunted in annoyance and tried again, stepping closer to the bars this time.

And suddenly, she knew. Her only shot at surviving was here and now.

Desperation took over.

Acting without thinking, Summer reached into the jumpsuit pocket for the stone-filled sock at the same time as she lunged forward. Teeth bared, she shot a hand through the bars and grabbed a handful of the man’s shirt, locking her fist tight and jerking him hard against the bars.

His eyes widened in surprise for a split second but she was already bringing her right hand up, swinging the rocks toward the side of his head with all her might.

With a cry of rage, she hit him square in the temple, where the bone was thinnest, the force of the impact reverberating up her arm. The man jerked slightly then slumped over and fell against the bars, either stunned or knocked out, she didn’t know and didn’t care.

The instant he hit the ground she knelt. Grabbed the back of his tunic. Rolled him over until she could reach the gun sticking out from the waistband of his pants. She was panting for breath, her heart racing, stomach rolling and muscles quivering.

But then he stirred, groaning.

Scampering backward out of reach in case he tried to grab her, Summer pulled back the slide on the pistol, curled her finger around the trigger and fired twice in rapid succession between his shoulder blades.

The weapon kicked in her hands, the sound of the shots deafening, so different from when she’d shot on the range with Adam using ear protection. Blood spurted up as the bullets impacted, more of it quickly pooling around the body.

But there were other threats out there that she had yet to face.

Gasping and queasy, she raised her weapon and took aim at the shadows she could see moving through the smoke ahead of her. They’d be coming now. They would have heard the shots and would come to investigate. And the moment they saw their dead comrade, they’d kill her. She had to get out now, had probably mere seconds before someone shot her.

Hurry, hurry…

Her body was frustratingly sluggish, uncooperative in her need for haste. Keeping her weapon up and one eye on what was happening ahead of her, she bent again and reached back through the bars with a shaking hand to search the man for a key, anything she could use to unlock the cage. She cringed as she touched him, but she had to keep looking.

She found nothing but a dirty rag in one of his pockets.

Biting back a cry of despair, she pushed to her feet and backed up a step, aimed the pistol at the lock. She wasn’t sure how many shots she had left but she had to risk using at least one more to get out of here.

Taking aim at the lock, she tried to steady her shaking hands.You can’t miss, she warned sternly.You have to hit it with the first shot.

Though her hands and arms were unsteady she focused on her target just as Adam had taught her all those years ago, and squeezed the trigger. Sparks flew and a loud bang sounded as the bullet struck the metal. She cringed, half-expecting the gas on the ground to ignite.

When it didn’t, she reared back and lashed out at the lock with a solid kick. The metal gave a little, but held.

Almost.

Spurred on by the raw will to survive, determined to free herself, she kicked again, using all the strength in her lower body, twisting to put her entire hip into it.

The lock bent more, but not enough.

Not enough.

She clenched her jaw, readied to make another kick but movement in her peripheral made her freeze. Her gaze shot to the left just in time to see Hadad materialize through the wall of smoke. A bolt of terror made her heart seize.

He stopped dead when he saw her, and in his dark eyes she saw both a flicker of surprise…

And fear.

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